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Bomb sniffing dogs to be given to three college campuses: Higher Education Roundup

Universities-Bomb Dogs

Ohio State University police officer Joanna Shaul and her canine. OSU is one of three universities getting bomb-sniffing dogs through a pilot program that officials eventually hope to expand.
(Ohio State University)

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Youngstown State University will be presented a bomb-sniffing dog Monday through a pilot program that officials eventually hope to expand throughout the state's public universities, the Associated Press reported.

Dogs will also be presented at Ohio State University on Tuesday and Bowling Green State University on Wednesday.

Ohio's public safety director, John Born, says it's part of Gov. John Kasich's plans to strengthen school safety for students ranging from preschool to college age.

Kent State University has a bomb dog and hopes to get another, said KSU Police Chief John Peach, the AP reported.

Born says the dogs can respond to threats and conduct security sweeps for large-scale events, such as athletic games or visits by dignitaries.

It costs more than $12,700 to buy each animal and pay for initial training and equipment. Ohio Homeland Security is covering those costs with federal grant money, AP reported.

The universities provide the officers who become the dogs' full-time handlers.

Debt repayment program to be expanded: President Barack Obama is expected to announce today that he plans to expand an income-based repayment program for federal student loan borrowers, The New York Times reported.

The administration plans to broaden eligibility for its Pay As You Earn program – which caps student loan payments at 10 percent of borrowers' discretionary income and forgives any unpaid debt after 20 years – to include an estimated 5 million additional borrowers who have older loans, according to the Times.

Obama will also formally announce that the Education Department plans to renegotiate the contract it has with federal student loan servicers to include incentives for helping borrowers avoid default. The department previously said it plans to change how it oversees those servicing companies and had said it was "re-examining" how it pays them. Monday's executive actions come as Senate Democrats are making a push on student debt relief in advance of the fall midterm elections.

Over the weekend, Obama endorsed a bill by Senate Democrats that would allow existing borrowers to lower the interest rate on their student loans, Inside Higher Ed reported. The legislation proposes to fund such a refinancing program by enacting the so-called "Buffett Rule," which would end some tax breaks for millionaires.

Republicans are largely opposed to the proposal. In a statement on Sunday, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate education committee, rejected the plan as a "political stunt" to give former students money to pay off their loans, Inside Higher Ed reported. "College graduates don't need a $1-a-day taxpayer subsidy to help pay off a $27,000 loan," he said. "They need a good job."

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